Interlacing elements of Greek tragedy, surrealism and absurdist horror, Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to The Lobster (LFF2015) is a deliciously twisted and slyly macabre morality tale. Steven (Colin Farrell) is a wealthy cardiothoracic surgeon who lives a harmonious existence with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two children Kim and Bob. Unbeknownst to his magazine-perfect family, Steven has formed an odd friendship with fatherless teenager Martin, to whom he brings gifts and offers financial support. When Steven decides to introduce Martin to his unsuspecting family, the sinister intentions of this strange young man become frighteningly clear. Shot with cool precision by cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis, the film exudes a clinical calm that is in keeping with Steven and Anna’s professions, but very much at odds with their mounting domestic horrors. The stellar cast delivers unnerving, deliciously off-kilter performances with young Irish actor Barry Keoghan a revelation as the malevolent interloper. The pitch-black script by Lanthimos and regular collaborator Efthimis Filippou (who jointly won the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival) shifts allegiances with a slipperiness that belies the film’s relentless, irreversible story logic. A wickedly perverse riff on the myth of Iphigenia, Steven too will discover that all actions have consequences.

Clare Stewart

Festival guests

These members of the filmmaking team are expected to attend the festival: